A new physical starch modification method: Pressure annealing treatment (PAT)

Area of Science:

• Food Science
• Material Science
• Biochemistry

Background:

• Starch modification is crucial for tailoring food ingredient functionality.
• Novel, non-thermal methods are sought for clean-label starch processing.
• Pressure annealing treatment (PAT) offers a potential alternative to conventional methods.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of PAT on starches from corn, tapioca, wheat, and potato.
• To understand how PAT influences starch physicochemical and functional properties.
• To evaluate PAT as a clean-label starch modification strategy.

Main Methods:

• Starch samples from four botanical sources were subjected to PAT under optimized sub-gelatinization conditions.
• Physicochemical properties including crystallinity, gelatinization, hydration, and pasting were analyzed.
• In vitro digestibility was assessed to determine changes in slowly digestible starch (SDS) and resistant starch (RS).

Main Results:

• PAT induced starch-specific changes in crystallinity, thermal stability, swelling power, and solubility.
• Peak viscosity generally increased post-PAT, with varied effects on other pasting parameters.
• PAT increased SDS in corn and tapioca starches, and RS in wheat starch, without altering granule morphology.

Conclusions:

• PAT effectively modifies starch structure and function in a source-dependent manner.
• The treatment preserves granule integrity while inducing internal molecular rearrangements.
• PAT presents a promising clean-label technology for producing functional starches with tunable digestibility.